Millions of people receive Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant payments from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) every month. During last year's Budget Speech, the Finance Minister announced that the SRD grant would increase.
On 1 April 2024, the SRD grant was increased by R20 to go from R350 to R370.
Commonly referred to as the R350 grant because of it’s value, SRD grant beneficiaries will begin receiving R370 from 1 April 2024. This means that the R350 grant is being increased by R20 or 5.7%.
On Wednesday afternoon, Minister Enoch Godongwana, tabled the Budget for the 2025/26 financial year. Many beneficiaries might have been awaiting another SRD grant increase announcement.
Unfortunately, Godongwana did not announce that the grant would be increased. This means that for the foreseeable future, SRD grant beneficiaries will receive R370 per month.
The Minister did however deliver good news for the SRD grant.
SRD Grant Extended Until 2026
Godongwana announced that the SRD grant, which was set to come to an end in March 2025, will be extended for another year. Now, the government has set March 2026 as its end date.
The COVID19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD), in its current form, will be extended by a year to end March 2026. R35.2 billion is allocated for this purpose.
R35.2 billion is being allocated to extend the payment of the R370 grant per beneficiary, including administration costs.
“The SRD will be used as a basis for the introduction of a sustainable form of income support for unemployed people,” said the Minister.
The future structure and nature of the SRD grant will be determined by the findings of a review of active labour market programmes, which is expected to be completed by September 2025.
This will likely see the government introduce a Basic Income Grant.
The Department of Social Development (DSD) confirmed consultations will continue regarding implementing Basic Income Support. Their goal is to submit a draft policy to parliament in the next 2025/2026 financial year.
An amount of R35.2 billion is allocated to extend the payment at the current [SRD] R370 per month per beneficiary, including administration costs.
The extension of the SRD grant aims to provide a safety net while the BIS policy is finalised.
